Self-Portrait as a Lute Player
c. 1637/1638
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 38.7 x 32.4 cm (15 1/4 x 12 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CNE-B
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
The Lee and Juliet Folger Fund
Accession Number
2015.20.1
Art Historical Context
Jan Miense Molenaer’s *Self-Portrait as a Lute Player*, painted around 1637–1638, captures the artist in the guise of a musician during the height of the Dutch Golden Age. Working in Haarlem, Molenaer belonged to a generation of painters who celebrated everyday pleasures and the rising middle-class interest in music and domestic entertainment. By portraying himself with a lute, he blends personal identity with the era’s fascination for harmony and leisure, turning a simple self-image into a lively genre scene. Executed in oil on panel, the compact work (just over 15 by 12 inches) showcases th...